Despite Challenges, Jawbone’s Rahman Still Upbeat

It’s been a tough 18 months for Jawbone. A new president hired from Google last year, Sameer Samat, returned to Google after just six months. It laid off 15% of its workforce. The company told one of its business partners it couldn’t make an August payment deadline. Jawbone breached covenants on its $300 million loan from BlackRock, Jawbone confirmed, prompting the investor to push Jawbone to put itself on the market. That sale process didn’t lead to any bids.

Yet after all that, CEO Hosain Rahman is upbeat about Jawbone’s prospects. In an interview with The Information on Wednesday, he declared that “a lot of things” have changed at the wearable maker as he works to pivot the business towards medical devices.